The County's MOU with CCTA to provide Measure X funding for ATS Plan implementation includes five payments, each with performance requirements that must be met in order to release funding. Performance requirements for Payments 1-3 and 5 are reviewed and processed administratively. Payment # 4 requires concurrence from the Board of Supervisors on the form of the (CE) being established by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority.
Coordinating Entity Recommendation
The ATS Plan included a recommendation to create a new "coordinating entity" that would be responsible for implementing the recommendations of the Plan. The lack of a responsible party was identified as a weakness in prior plans. The following is the recommendation in the ATS Plan for the CE:
Establish a Dedicated Countywide Coordinated Entity (CE)
A CE should either be created or designated to implement countywide study recommendations. The Task Force (TF) will be responsible for determining where this entity should be housed – it could be in an existing non-profit or public agency, or the TF could determine that a new entity will need to be established.
As shown in the language above, the ATS Plan did not determine what type of organization the CE would ultimately be. This was to be explored and determined after the adoption of the ATS Plan by the ATS Task Force.
After the ATS Plan adoption the Task Force met for just over a year and among other tasks, developed a recommendation for the CE type. The Task Force reviewed the following organization types as potential options for CE designation:
- One of the Contra Costa public transit agencies (AC Transit, County Connection, Tri Delta Transit, WestCAT)
- The Contra Costa Transportation Authority
- A new non-profit
- An existing non-profit
- A new joint powers authority
At their October 20, 2022 meeting, the ATS Plan Task Force recommended to the CCTA that a framework be established for the Countywide CE as a nonprofit/CCTA partnership.
The CCTA Board considered the Task Force recommendation at their December 21, 2022 meeting with Ying Smith (Director of Programs) explaining that CCTA would establish a new non-profit CE to coordinate the accessible transportation programs and services with the intent that the transit operators maintain authority over their ADA paratransit operations. The CCTA Board concurred with the Task Force recommendation and approved the establishment of a framework and concept for the Countywide Coordinating Entity with a unanimous vote. The meeting minutes from the 12-21-22 CCTA Board meeting are attached to this staff report.
Measure X CE Payment
The Measure X MOU includes the following language related to Payment #4 which addresses the establishment of a new Coordinating Entity.
Task 3. Identify and, if necessary, create, the Coordinating Entity and take all feasible steps to establish the entity’s operations. For the Coordinating Entity to be created, the task force will submit its final recommendation for approval to the County Board of Supervisors, through the County’s Conservation and Development Department, and to CCTA’s Board. Both parties shall agree on the organization type of the Coordinating Entity in order for the 20% Coordinating Entity funding to be provided per Schedule 2. The two parties shall meet as necessary to come to an agreement.
Payment 4: 20% will be paid within 60 days of receipt of an invoice and supporting documentation establishing that the Board of Supervisors and CCTA have approved the Coordinating Entity recommendation in accordance with Schedule 1. (Task 3)
Discussion
The ATS Task Force conducted a robust, public process which ultimately led to a staff recommendation of a CCTA/non-profit partnership as the CE. The Task Force voted unanimously in support of the recommendation. A diverse range of stakeholders participated in the dialog including executive staff and Board members from Contra Costa's public transit operators, non-profit staff, local elected officials, and Contra Costa Health Services staff.
Other ATS Updates
Updates unrelated to the Coordinating Entity approval are below:
- In December the CCTA Board agreed to develop a framework to develop a non-profit based Coordinating Entity to oversee accessible transportation issues in Contra Costa County
- At a future meeting, the CCTA Board will consider creating an Office of Accessibility and Equity and hiring a Program Manager to staff the new office.
- At the time this report was submitted, the Board of Supervisors was scheduled to appoint Supervisor Ken Carlson and Dr. Sara Levin to CCTA's Accessible Transportation Task Force
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